The Supreme Court says owner's rights were violated by a drug-sniffing dog on the doorstep

12:07 PM,
Mar. 26, 2013

The Supreme Court building.

Written by

David Jackson and Richard Wolf
USA TODAY

A drug-sniffing dog at your doorstep is a step too far, the Supreme Court has decided.

While the high court had ruled last month that a Florida police officer's use of a drug-sniffing dog to search a truck during a routine a traffic stop was OK, it drew the line today at the entrance to a private home.

Writing for a 5-4 majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said a dog sniffing at a house where police suspect drugs are being grown constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and the circumstances did not justify the officers' entry to the home.. ...